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Whole Foods, the upscale grocery store chain, just launched a media agency review – a common occurrence when a brand experiences an entire year of declining sales. Sales at Whole Foods have been slowly, yet steadily, decreasing, like so much kombucha dribbling out of a leaky bottle. The trouble? In a way, it’s that Whole Foods marketing has been too successful. In their 36 years of operation, Whole Foods was one of the first and loudest supporters of organic, sustainable meats and produce, and much of their success is because they successfully persuaded America that organic = better.

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Mattel is conducting a media agency review for both media planning and media buying, which is pretty exciting considering there isn’t a child alive who doesn’t own a Mattel toy of some kind. They own everything, from American Girl to Ninja Turtles – but lately, they’ve been making the most money off of the interstellar cash cow: Star Wars.

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Chipotle’s advertising has frequently walked the line of being just a bit dirty. Its turgid burritos stand five feet tall above freeway off-ramps, eliciting mouthwatering responses without even showing a sliver of a flour tortilla – an almost burlesque-like feat of marketing.

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Lowe’s, the home improvement retail giant, has launched its first media agency review in more than a decade, and their recent marketing efforts may indicate why: They need to effectively reach the older millennial demographic.

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PepsiCo doesn’t just sell soda - it’s a multi-billion dollar global conglomerate that includes brands like Tostitos, Quaker Oats, and Aunt Jemima. But in their digital agency review for the Pepsi brand in North America, you can bet that agencies who understand how to sell soda will rise to the top like so many carbonation bubbles.

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Crispy, salty, and crunchy in all the right places, fried chicken is one of the great American comfort foods. Unsurprisingly, fast food chains have been springing up for more than 70 years to serve the chicken-loving public. Chick-fil-A, Raising Cane’s, Zaxby’s, Bojangles’ Famous, El Pollo Loco, Buffalo Wild Wings, Wingstop, Boston Market, Popeyes, Church’s Chicken – they all have their own take on serving the bird, but they all have one thing in common.

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Female runners are a committed bunch. They’re the ones jogging on the roadside at 5am before work.They’re on the trail every weekend. They don’t consider it a good day unless their running shoes have met the pavement.

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Millennials have the reputation as gaming grownups – adults who, taking a break from “adulting,” turn to computer games and video games, which were formerly provinces of children and guys living in their parents’ basements (who are also, likely, Millennials).

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What can’t you do with a smart phone anymore? I can use mine to turn on every radio in my house (synchronized to my favorite Pandora station), control my thermostat, and even turn on outdoor lighting via wifi. These little pocket ‘puters never stop learning new tricks, and the latest is to take the place of your credit card.

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To be clear – this isn’t a deep-drive into young alcoholics. That’s an entirely different demographic, and one that really doesn’t need any booze-marketing efforts. The people we’re meeting today are a fun crowd. You’ll find them at the latest music festival, hanging out with friends at a craft brewery (or bringing craft brews to the campground) and waxing poetic about the burnt sugar aromatics of a hand-crafted bourbon.

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What do a troubled, yet brilliant Bass player, a Latin jazz guitarist, and a German band known for repetitive, robotic, all-electronic synthesizer tracks have in common?A bass player, jazz guitarist and four red-shirt-wearing Germans walk into a bar…No, they aren’t the start of a “walk into a bar” joke. These three musicians, Jaco Pastorius, Al Di Meola and Kraftwerk are the top musicians for a very special demographic: the Audiophile.

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“Waste not, want not,” as Grandmother used to say. And upcyclists – those who take their leftover wine bottles and use them to create attractive borders for their vegetable beds – are definitely following Grandma’s advice. Upcycling is reusing an object in a new way, without breaking down the original material (like recycling does). It’s environmentally friendly, thrifty, and increasingly trendy.

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Perhaps you too have spotted a ‘Lumbersexual’ out in the wild. I know I have. There he was, walking into Target, a mountain of a man, sporting a lush, yet groomed, beard that dipped from his chin to his clavicle. Bulging muscles stretched the red and white plaid of his thin flannel shirt, which made me wonder whether he spent eight-hour days in the gym, or actually was a lumberjack by trade. His tight, distressed skinny-jeans gave him away. No lumberjack of my acquaintance would sport such skin-tight duds.

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Are Hispanic Millennials trying to adopt a healthier diet?Similar to their non-Hispanic Millennial counterparts, Hispanic Millennials are trying to eat healthier. However they take a different approach to reach this goal: Whereas non-Hispanic Millennials tend to engage with Organic & Natural foods, Hispanic Millennials try to improve their diets by following blogs and websites featuring healthier recipes.

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As the the time spent consuming traditional TV content declines for nearly every audience segment, online video is quickly becoming one of the most effective mediums for reaching younger viewers. Today, Millennials are the individuals consuming it the most; Males are consuming sports and entertainment videos while females are more sensible to influencers’ videos and funny short clips, with a particular preference for the ones involving pets.

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Three meals a day has been the established standard for North America ever since the first settlers arrived from Europe. But while the grandparents of Millennials may have admonished them against snacking between meals, the younger generation has a new attitude toward in-between bites. They’re snacking more than any other generation.

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Yes, but not like the generations before them. Gen Xers cook for fun every week, or at least every month. Millennials don’t spend quite as much time cooking for pleasure. But one segment of Millennials is in the kitchen, using ingredients that would challenge a Top Chef contestant. This segment is Millennial men.

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Numerous studies, as well as anecdotal evidence, have shown that the concept of a “healthy lifestyle” changes with each generation. The Greatest Generation and their Baby Boomer offspring tend to associate health with vitamins and regular medical care. Millennials, on the other hand, have made a name for themselves by considering health to be an ongoing lifestyle, encompassing organic foods and regular exercise. Or, at least, that’s the story reported on most media sites.